Jim Mashek

RYAN BEARD, BEARS’ THIRD-YEAR HEAD COACH, IS BOWLING GREEN NATIVE AND FORMER WKU DEFENSIVE BACK

Coincidence or not, Missouri State University’s maiden voyage into Conference USA football has a familiar feel for both the Bears and their opponent on Saturday night, Western Kentucky University.

WKU (3-1 overall, 1-0 in Conference USA) faces the Bears (2-2 overall) in Missouri State’s C-USA opener on Saturday night in Springfield, Missouri. Seventh-year WKU coach Tyson Helton will match wits with another WKU product in Missouri State coach Ryan Beard, in his third year at the school making the transition to FBS football.

Beard grew up in Bowling Green and played defensive back at his hometown school, WKU. He got his start in coaching, too,

But there’s no time for sentimentality in this matchup.

“It’s come full circle,” Helton said earlier this week at the WKU press conference. “There’s a lot of close relationships, between our staff and Missouri State’s. At the end of the day, football’s football.

“We kind of know what each other does, on the field. Their offensive line is big and physical.

“Defensively, they do well in space. They’re good tacklers. We kind of know what each other does … I’ve never been (to Springfield) but I know there’s a lot of people I like, on that coaching staff.”

Beard played football at Bowling Green High School before playing for the Hilltoppers during their transition to FBS football more than 15 years ago. He joined former WKU coach Willie Taggart as a graduate assistant coach in his hometown in 2012, making coaching stops at Northern Michigan, WKU, Louisville and Central Michigan before becoming the Bears’ head coach in 2023.

Several members of Beard’s Missouri State coaching staff played football at WKU, and his offensive coordinator, Nick Petrino, is also a WKU graduate. Petrino was primarily responsible for recruiting MSU freshman quarterback Deuce Bailey, who guided the Purples to back-to-back KHSAA Class 5A state championships before making the move to Springfield over the summer.

“I’m where my feet are at. I’m a Missouri State Bear,” Beard told Daily News sports editor Jeff Nations. “Our players know and understand that. We’re going to go and try to win the game. All the feel-good stories are great for the media, for the fans. We’re locked in, in that locker room …

“We’re going to go out and try to compete.”

Western Kentucky is a four-point favorite and the Hilltoppers haven’t faced Missouri State since 2006, when both teams were a member of the FCS Gateway Conference. WKU got back in the win column last week, using a strong second half to turn back upset-minded Nevada, 31-16, at Houchens-Smith Stadium. The Hilltoppers had played poorly one week earlier, taking a 45-21 drubbing at the hands of Toledo.

Now WKU will face two first-year Conference USA members, Missouri State and Delaware, over the next eight days, with both games on the road. The Hilltoppers got their doors blown off in their only other road game, at Toledo, so WKU coach Tyson Helton and his staff seem to have their players’ attention.

“It should be a good environment,” Helton said. “Road tests, in conference play, that’s a box you’ve got to check, to win a championship.

“It’ll be a very competitive game, another four-quarter game.”

WKU has used the right arm of senior transfer quarterback Maverick McIvor to get off to a good start this season, but the Hilltoppers had to rely on defense and their running game to knock off Nevada, which led the Tops 13-10 after three quarters on Saturday night at Houchens-Smith Stadium.

The Hilltoppers used 145 rushing yards and McIvor’s judicious passing — he completed 22 of 33 passes for 216 yards, with an interception — to knock off Nevada. Helton said teams will try to limit what McIvor and the WKU passing game can do, which means the Tops will “have to take what the defense gives us.”

MSU quarterback Jacob Clark, a 6-foot-5 senior from Rockwall, Texas, has completed 67 percent of his passes for 1,052 yards and eight touchdowns in the Bears’ four games. Former BGHS star Deuce Bailey is serving as Clark’s backup, and Bailey got some playing time in Missouri State’s 42-10 victory over Tennessee-Martin last week in Springfield.

“We’ve got to take care of the ball, and the biggest thing is to keep them out of the end zone.”

That’s one area in which the Hilltoppers excelled against Nevada, as WKU trailed the Wolf Pack for the vast majority of the first three quarters in that game.

“(Nevada) got four trips to the red zone and scored (a touchdown) once,” WKU co-defensive coordinator Da’Von Brown said. “(Missouri State) does a good job of getting explosive plays in the passing game. At the end of the day, I want our guys to compete, to get to the ball.

“The effort, the attitude, the want-to is there.”

The Hilltoppers will play three of their next four games on the road, with the lone exception a home game against Florida International University on October 14. Kickoff for Saturday’s game between the Tops and Missouri State is set for 6 p.m.